ARE THEY BEING DISMISSIVE?
When a short response carries a much bigger meaning
A one-word reply such as “Okay” can quickly become a much bigger story in our minds. Are they busy, tired or communicating literally — or are they annoyed, rejecting us or dismissing what we said?
This resource explores why short messages can feel emotionally loaded and how anxiety, previous rejection, relationship experiences, rejection sensitivity and neurodivergent communication can influence what we read between the lines.
Inside the PDF we explore the difference between a genuinely dismissive pattern and a single ambiguous response, how text communication removes many of the cues we normally use to understand meaning, ways to separate observation from interpretation, how to ask for clarification, and a personal check-in for examining the story our brain may have created.
Space to Breathe Therapy
